Topics in Category: Capacity development - SuSanA Forumhttps://forum.susana.org
Sun, 15 Sep 2019 15:43:45 +0200Joomla! - Open Source Content Management/media/kunena/images/icons/rss.pngTopics in Category: Capacity development - SuSanA Forumen-gbKey documents for the sub-category on capacity development - by: depinderhttps://forum.susana.org/forum/categories/196-capacity-development/16268-key-documents-for-the-sub-category-on-capacity-development#24645
https://forum.susana.org/forum/categories/196-capacity-development/16268-key-documents-for-the-sub-category-on-capacity-development#24645
Sure, will suggest what can be updated. The top 5 learning material on capacity building can be a mix of theory and practice, spatially and thematically on some aspects of the main theme. Give me a week to suggest.

For the factsheet, I am willing to join in the effort to update it. Good to have a group going for this as suggested by you. We can take inputs from the larger group as well.

Again, this short survey aims gather insight from WASH professionals on data needs, challenges, and tools used. The findings will help inform my PhD research, which looks at new trends in data collection and the role of digital tools related to sanitation in the context of SDG 6.

Please feel free to contact me at the email below if you have any questions. Thanks and best wishes,

Marcus ErridgeThis email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
ces.uc.pt/en/doutoramentos/doutorandos-as/marcus-guy-erridge
]]>Knowledge management (KM) tools and approachesMon, 26 Aug 2019 10:25:50 +0200How do we use our data? - by: MarcusErridgehttps://forum.susana.org/forum/categories/279-knowledge-management-km-tools/22069-how-do-we-use-our-data?start=12#27647
https://forum.susana.org/forum/categories/279-knowledge-management-km-tools/22069-how-do-we-use-our-data?start=12#27647
For those interested in this thread, and in sanitation data in general, I am PhD student working on a thesis project looking at new trends in data collection and associated technologies related to access to and demand for sanitation, in the context of SDG 6.

I am reaching out to ask if any of you might be willing to help by taking a short online survey. I am hoping to circulate the survey in the next two weeks. It is intended to gather information from those with experience of working with data in the WASH field. In particular, the questions focus on the use of digital tools in data gathering and validation, as they relate to your work.

Once the survey is ready to go, I will seek advice on the best place to share this through the SuSanA network in a new thread. For now, I just giving those on this thread a quick heads-up that the survey will be going round. Any help or ideas getting this survey to relevant people would be greatly appreciated.

• Journalists from 6 key media outlets
were trained on sanitation and how to
cover sanitation issues
• Engage with selected medias outlets as
key stakeholder within the service chain
• Journalists strengthened their capacity
in writing articles, reports or
advertorials on non-sewered sanitation.

The (1) is similar to any major EPC project. Eg. Power station, Oil Field development, Hospital technology etc. Efficient, effective scoping, technology, procurement, Installation & commissioning, Operations and withdrawal are all suitable for strong project planning. SOPs, Quality systems, DCS/SCADA/ Data Driven MIS can make this happen.

The (2) looks similar to organization development, alignment, team building (Form-Storm-Norm-Perform model), Training & Development, Career Model. Equal Opportunity employment etc. There is however a big difference in these 'sociology' systems from controlled organization setup. The “system” and “stakeholders” are never taken into any group identity or a common unit (unlike in a company). Yet, a number of approaches in organization assist here too. RANAS BCT for behavioral change; Super-Amma program (London school of hygiene & tropical medicine) both point to some COMMON GUIDING FORCESa. This area can benefit from methods and metrics already in use with HR, Competency Management, Decentralized organization models. They can be adapted?.

The (3) is very sensitive as it "powers" the entire transformation initiative. ROI, Cost-Benefits, Metrics are not practical in programs like “Full Sanitation Chain”. Similar constraint occurs while forming a research or technology institute. A 5 year look-ahead commitment is how the projects can ascertain support. These can be qualified with clear performance (or growth) criteria under (1) and some kind of adapted measures under (2).

VISIBILITY is often achieved in large engineering and technology systems by following FORMAL management tools. A simple mechanism to document and present the entire program -- Pilot -to- Full-scale is necessary.
The risk of excesses (or deficiency) in technology or equipment is addressed during project design for major EPC work. Strategies are evaluated using management tools. Technology is acquired by measuring ‘Value of Information’. Some (or more) of them become useful in (1) scale-up.

Are there books, manuals or best practice write-ups for socially intensive projects? I will continue searching and learning!
Reference:
(a)
forum.susana.org/media/kunena/attachment...surveyFirstDraft.pdf
]]>Capacity developmentMon, 08 Apr 2019 11:48:37 +0200Program for better FSM by leveraging evidence - a global Learning and Peer Exchange Platform (LEAP) - by: kowshikganeshhttps://forum.susana.org/forum/categories/279-knowledge-management-km-tools/23059-program-for-better-fsm-by-leveraging-evidence-a-global-learning-and-peer-exchange-platform-leap#26877
https://forum.susana.org/forum/categories/279-knowledge-management-km-tools/23059-program-for-better-fsm-by-leveraging-evidence-a-global-learning-and-peer-exchange-platform-leap#26877
Athena Infonomics
is designing a global Learning and Peer Exchange Platform (LEAP). LEAP will serve as an aggregator of evidence (which we define as any documentation of results-focused interventions) in urban FSM across existing knowledge repositories, synthesizing insights on the kind of evidence that exists, and serving as a natural reference point to guide new research in the space.

Envisioned as an online tool, LEAP seeks to distinguish itself from existing repositories and knowledge management initiatives through its focus on evidence as a resource, as against the larger set of available resources such as decision support tools and guidelines. Users of the platform will be able to search for and explore different types of evidence across a range of knowledge repositories using a set of customized search criteria such as the types of interventions, and whether the outcomes were successfully achieved or not. The key objective would be to ensure that a user is able to inform the implementation of a particular intervention in their context through a study of evidence on its effectiveness, efficiency and other parameters of success, in similar contexts globally. This is depicted in the illustration provided.

The development of LEAP will be driven by a study of knowledge repositories and the evidence they contain. The first part of the study is focused on understanding how these repositories categorize and tag various types of evidence such as quantitative evaluations and case studies. The second part is focused on deep diving into the evidence itself, to create a template that captures the key characteristics of each piece of evidence. Some of the characteristics that will be captured are the city contexts, types of interventions, types of outcomes, results, and whether the evidence answers questions of effectiveness, efficiency, cost-effectiveness and equity. Based on the study, a crawler is planned to be developed that aggregates evidence from identified external repositories, and presents visualizations of intervention pathways and evidence robustness. While in the longer term the platform would be augmented with live exchanges of knowledge between peers, we plan to commence it with evidence from key sources of knowledge in the FSM space.

This approach has two broad components – a supply side component which identifies and aggregates supply of evidence, and a demand side which identifies key evidence needs and helps design the user interface. For the supply side component, we are in the process of reaching out to key repositories of knowledge/evidence in the FSM space to consolidate our understanding of the supply of evidence. Some of the repositories we are already in discussions with are SuSanA, WSUP, and 3ie. On the demand side, we are carrying out consultations with different user categories such as government agencies, private and non-profit implementation partners, and academic users

Towards this, we are keen to work closely with the SuSanA community on this initiative to understand what kind of functionalities would be most useful for potential users, especially given the varied kinds of users that currently form the community. Additionally, we would like for the community to be amongst the early users of the platform, and be closely involved in the testing of early versions to provide feedback on the utility and user-friendliness of the same. In this regard, we are excited about the chance to work together, and invite community members to reach out to us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to learn more about this initiative and explore opportunities for collaboration.]]>Knowledge management (KM) tools and approachesTue, 29 Jan 2019 10:48:11 +0100Q&A with sanitation implementers Case Studies - overviews of different latrine programs compiled by CAWST - by: muenchhttps://forum.susana.org/forum/categories/196-capacity-development/22859-q-a-with-sanitation-implementers-case-studies-overviews-of-different-latrine-programs-compiled-by-cawst#26804
https://forum.susana.org/forum/categories/196-capacity-development/22859-q-a-with-sanitation-implementers-case-studies-overviews-of-different-latrine-programs-compiled-by-cawst#26804
In answer to your question about the project database:
Projects can be added to the project database by anyone. Most of the projects were actually added by me. If an organisation wants to add their own projects that’s great. But usually they are grateful if we (= SuSanA secretariat or anyone else) do it for them. - It would be useful if the projects from your Q&A series could be added to the project database as well.

And I discussed the term latrine a bit more with Sterenn by e-mail and copy here what we wrote:

I said: About the term latrine: In German we have a word called “Latrine” (pronounced like “latriné” with an emphasis on the last “e”) and everyone would think of something very backward, nasty and filthy. So that’s perhaps where my bias against the English word latrine comes from when it’s “latrine” on its own. If it’s “pit latrine” then it feels “OK” to me.

Sterenn replied: ‘latrine’ in north America is only used in the military and scouts – so it doesn’t have the best connotation either. When developing the latrine program design workshop, I asked what term was most commonly used in the countries they work in and there was such a mix. In Latin America, latrine is also not very aspirational. But in Zambia it seemed to be common. We decided to stick with latrine for now so its consistent with our materials, but are open to changing in the future. We adapt all our workshops, so if its delivered in south America, they’ll use the appropriate term in the workshop. - But generally I do think there is a trend to move away from the term.

This workshop provides an overview of the six components of a successful latrine program: stakeholder engagement, demand creation, products and services, finances, capacity development, and monitoring. After participating in this workshop, participants will be able to design or strengthen a latrine program for their context. They will have a greater awareness of factors influencing behaviour change and will be better equipped to support correct, consistent, and continued use of latrines in the communities they serve. This workshop is for latrine program decision makers.

Upon completion of the workshop, the participants will be able to:
• Determine the goal of a latrine program
• Select appropriate stakeholder engagement activities for latrine program stakeholders
• Select appropriate activities to create demand for a latrine program
• Outline ways to strengthen a supply chain for a latrine program
• Recommend a financing plan for a latrine program
• Select appropriate capacity development activities for latrine program stakeholders
• Explain the process of designing a monitoring system for a latrine program

Please let me know if you have any questions about this workshop or CAWST's experience with instructional design.

Thanks!

Sterenn]]>Capacity developmentWed, 28 Nov 2018 17:53:25 +0100Fostering learning and collaboration among BMGF WSH Partners in India (Dasra) - by: Dasrahttps://forum.susana.org/forum/categories/279-knowledge-management-km-tools/22726-fostering-learning-and-collaboration-among-bmgf-wsh-partners-in-india-dasra#26507
https://forum.susana.org/forum/categories/279-knowledge-management-km-tools/22726-fostering-learning-and-collaboration-among-bmgf-wsh-partners-in-india-dasra#26507
There is currently a hiatus on the development of the Chorus website as we consider our strategic priorities for 2019-2022. Chorus forms one part of our broader work, and considering that there has been limited uptake especially for the networking features, we may consider overhauling the entire site, focusing purely on knowledge management, or look to working with a partner to develop a more robus India-specific knowledge platform on FSSM.

The taxonomy refers to how the knowledge content on the potential website could be organized and structured, but as mentioned the development of the website is currently on a hiatus. We will keep SuSanA updated as we revisit Chorus, and in the meanwhile will keep everyone posted on new products and learnings from our side. We soon hope to share a practitioners’ DIY style guide on FSSM which we have been working on with our taskforce of partner organizations, working on technology.

How to upscale such trainings and how to include aspects of cost savings in construction designing is important.

We have just embarked on the first level of capacity building in FSSM and need to find out how to carry it forward to a higher level of capacity building and training.]]>Capacity developmentWed, 10 Oct 2018 04:21:25 +0200Project database and map of SuSanA - short video guide - by: muenchhttps://forum.susana.org/forum/categories/279-knowledge-management-km-tools/21798-project-database-and-map-of-susana-short-video-guide#26209
https://forum.susana.org/forum/categories/279-knowledge-management-km-tools/21798-project-database-and-map-of-susana-short-video-guide#26209
I recently made up a short 4-minute video showing some features of the SuSanA project database. In the video, I explain how to use the filter and search functions and give a general overview on what the project database offers. Enjoy!

We now have 460 projects in the project database (exactly 100 more compared to Shobana's post from one year ago).

If you have any questions about using this project database please don't hesitate to ask.

Regards,
Elisabeth

P.S.
Anyone can add their projects to the project database. If you are a SuSanA partner you can add projects directly yourself. If you are not a SuSanA partner you can e-mail us the information and we can add it for you. Please note that human resources at the secretariat are limited. So the best option is to become a partner and add projects yourself (existing partners have to ask the secretariat to upgrade their SuSanA login for this purpose). The second best option is to send us the information in the right format, using the headings as seen in the project database so that we can add the project for you.

You can see what is needed by looking at some example projects.
- This one is a project with a good level of detail:
www.susana.org/en/knowledge-hub/projects/database/details/421
- This project has gone a step further and also included images and videos:
www.susana.org/en/knowledge-hub/projects/database/details/100
]]>Knowledge management (KM) tools and approachesTue, 09 Oct 2018 05:09:32 +0200Invitation to share your training resources - by: sterennphilippehttps://forum.susana.org/forum/categories/196-capacity-development/22678-invitation-to-share-your-training-resources#26173
https://forum.susana.org/forum/categories/196-capacity-development/22678-invitation-to-share-your-training-resources#26173
Thank you for sharing your concerns. To your points:

• Yes, this work takes time. We have only just finished uploading and curating the resources. The next step is to do a simple analysis. I want to reiterate that we have not done an analysis yet. We merely made some general observations of the resources we found through our online search.
• The simple analysis that will be conducted will be shared on the forum to allow members to respond. If you have some ideas or suggestions on what you would want to see from this analysis, other than what I have suggested, please share them with us.
• As previously mentioned we have not analyzed the quality of any of the trainer manuals. This would require a lot of work – which would have to start with defining the characteristics of a good trainer manual. We do not plan to do this at this point. We have simply compiled and uploaded.
• I want to clarify what is meant by “developed to a publishable standard”. Many organizations create training materials informally for a specific training and don’t formalize them (e.g., copy-editing, formatting, packaging etc.). They therefore remain an internal resource to the organization and are not published online. We therefore did not find these resources. These are valuable resources and we encourage organizations to publish their training resources and share them with us.
• Having a point person from each country to share more resources would be valuable. I suggest writing a post on the forum and seeing who would be interested in taking on this role? We can then forward this post to various contacts to see if they are interested.

]]>Knowledge management (KM) tools and approachesTue, 21 Aug 2018 01:40:46 +0200Sanitation Capacity Building - Peer Learning and Review Request - by: dorothee.spuhlerhttps://forum.susana.org/forum/categories/196-capacity-development/22364-sanitation-capacity-building-peer-learning-and-review-request#25601
https://forum.susana.org/forum/categories/196-capacity-development/22364-sanitation-capacity-building-peer-learning-and-review-request#25601
I am sorry that you have not get many responses so far.
I will try to highlight your questions again and put the more simple:

Capacity development strategy targeted to staff of urban local bodies (and maybe also academia and private sector):

Who is involved in urban local bodies with sanitation?

How should the capacity needs of these people be best assessed?

Design of capacity development interventions and required capacity development support tools:

How should training modules and content be developed including various stakeholders?

What other innovative activities might be effective?

Holistic approach:

Can other urban planning frameworks (e.g. ground and surface water mapping) be linked with city sanitation planning?

Depinder, I would like you to start with your own reflections on these questions!

You may also provide us an update where you currently stand.

Cheers, Dorothee

PS: Please look also out for the announcement of the WG1 meeting in Stockholm and contact Sterenn who is organising it in order to share your experiences there in case you happen to be in Stockholm for WWW.]]>Capacity developmentFri, 13 Jul 2018 19:30:23 +0200